


Time Bomb

by GrinningLantern



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-09-01
Updated: 2016-09-13
Packaged: 2018-08-12 11:45:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,749
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7933393
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GrinningLantern/pseuds/GrinningLantern
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This is the story of Sigrid Voorhies and how she overcame losing everything to find a new beginning in Overwatch as Epoch, a wielder of time who seems to be growing attached to a certain rat...</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Life and Times

**Author's Note:**

> Hey, everyone! Welcome to the first fanfic I've written in probably a decade. I am horribly out of practice so please excuse the dust. Let me know if you find any glaring mistakes and I'll try to correct it. The chapters are a little long but I hope you enjoy it! Slow start but there will be eventual fluff and possibly some romance..

Twenty-five year old Sigrid Voorhies complacently watched the blaring television in her darkened workshop. A re-run of a classic program showed two men working to answer the question of whether or not you could build a bridge entirely from duct tape. It was one of Sigrid’s favorites primarily because of the way these two gentlemen went about solving the questions that were presented to them. She loved anything involving science. Space, genetics, robotics, time. These were all topics of great interest to the young tinkerer. As she watched these shows she would sometimes try to emulate the things that they were doing. One of the guys from her favorite show also had a channel on a popular video-sharing site. His channel was old and practically forgotten but she still found herself building some of the things that he had built. She was now the proud owner of a hand-built wooden sword complete with leather armor. The space around her was littered with various parts and pieces of projects that were still in the works. Sigrid had a nasty habit of starting projects only to leave them to collect dust.

 

There was one project, however, that never seemed to collect said dust. It sat on a large workbench directly behind the decrepit couch of her “Tinker Cave” as she called it. The project, thus far, consisted of several blueprints sprawled across the table’s surface and what appeared to be a small, clockwork puzzle box with a gyroscope at it’s center. A tightly coiled spring gave life to the tiny gears inside and the little box softly ticked as time went by. The gyroscope was directly attached to the gears and it slowly spun in tune with the ticking. The whole thing was powered by a wind-up key that kept the spring tightly coiled. A small switch sat next to this key that was labeled “Overdrive.” A larger claw-like device was seated next to the box, it’s “fingers” splayed open to reveal a small crystal point situated at the conversion point of the claw’s three metallic digits.

Next to the little box and claw sat a framed photo. It was a picture of Sigrid, her mother, her father and her cat, Ramsay. The whole family was smiling in front of their house all decorated for Halloween with spooky skeletons and gravestones, each member holding a pumpkin they had carved just minutes before.

 

Sigrid sighed, turning the television off and peeling herself from her slouching position on the couch she eyed the small box on the workbench and then the picture next to it, gently picking it up and wiping the dust from it’s frame. She stared into the photo, reliving that day like it was yesterday. She was going to be on her way to college soon and decided to spend Halloween with her parents before the move to America. It was a day she would never forget.

Tensions between the Omnics and Humans had reached an all-time high. Riots had become more commonplace and acts of violence toward human and Omnic alike were equally so.

 

A few days after that photo was taken, Sigrid was preparing to leave for the airport. She was in the living room with her mom and dad about to say her goodbyes. Her dad, an unwavering Anti-Omnic, always had the news on. An urgent newsflash interrupted her mother’s gardening show, warning all the citizens of Sigrid’s hometown to evacuate immediately. A large group of Omnics had marched on the town, killing any citizen in their path. Sigrid’s family home lie on the outskirts of the town and it was only a matter of time before the Omnics spread out. It was strange how everything went from calm to chaos in a matter of minutes. The Voorhies family quickly darted around the house, gathering up any important belongings they could shove into bags and backpacks. Sigrid grabbed poor Ramsay, who was mewling pitifully under their kitchen table, and ran from the house behind her mom and dad. They were too late, however. The Omnics were already pressing their attacks on the homes outside the town. A small grouping of the Omnics marched towards Sigrid’s house, their red eyes turning to lock on to the Voorhies’.

“Run! Siggy! Isabel! Just run!” Sigrid’s father had shouted. He grabbed a nearby shovel and attempted to swing at one of the Omnics, knocking it in the head. The other Omnics took aim and that was the last time Sigrid ever saw her father. Sigrid stood in horror as she watched the body of her father fall to the ground.

“No..,” she breathed. She made a motion to go to him but was stopped when her mother grabbed her by the arm and dragged her away. “No! Dad! We can’t leave him!” Sigrid cried.

“He is gone, Siggy,” her mother choked, tears trailing down her cheeks,”We have to leave!”

 

Sigrid, still clutching tightly to Ramsay, did as her mother said and followed her around the side of the house. The Omnics were in hot pursuit, their eyes never leaving their targets. Bullets whizzed past the duo, striking fencing and the sides of other houses. Sigrid and Isabel ran as fast their legs would take them, their lungs burning from sudden activity. But it wasn’t enough. Isabel was caught in the leg by one of the bullets. She collapsed onto the asphault, struggling to get back up. Sigrid held out her hand in an effort to get her mother back up and running again but more bullets came flying past the two, another bullet striking Sigrid’s mother in the shoulder. Her terror-filled eyes flitted between her mother bleeding on the ground to the Omnics quickly approaching.

“Siggy..Go. You have to leave..you have to get out of here,” her mother placed a hand on hers.

“I won’t leave you,” Sigrid choked through her sobs.

The Omnics were almost on them now. She had to make a choice. Isabel looked at Sigrid with desperation,”Go. Now.”

Reluctantly, Sigrid let go of her Mother’s hand.

“I love you, Mom.”

“I love..you too, Siggy. Don’t..ever..forget that.”

 

And with that, Sigrid ran as fast as she could, not daring to look back as she heard another spray of bullets come from the Omnics. Clutching Ramsay to her chest she kept running, tears blurring her vision while her muscles and lungs burned but the adrenaline and her own fear kept her going. She had to stay alive.

 

She retreated into a nearby forest and ducked down into the thick brush, hoping she had left the Omnics far behind her. She could hear the terrified screams of her townspeople rising from the smoking debris of several houses and buildings. Was this real? Was it all a bad dream? Regardless, Sigrid had to keep going. She didn’t remember how long she ran or how far. All that she knew was that everything was gone. Her home, her family..all destroyed. All she had left was her black cat Ramsay and a newfound vengeance burning in her heart.

 

After telling her story to an elderly couple in a neighboring town, they had taken her in and given her some work to do to earn a little money to get back on her feet. Sigrid lived with the couple for a few years before moving out and settling into her current residing: A small ramshackle house in the middle of nowhere. She would occasionally visit the couple to show her appreciation for them, even attending the funeral of the wife when she passed a few months after Sigrid had left.

 

Life out here was difficult but, Sigrid got by with a modest job and ramen noodles. Ramsay was a big help. As the only family she had left, the old black cat provided Sigrid with some much needed comfort and company. She never left her little house mostly because she was busy tinkering with the contraption on the workbench.

 

Sigrid picked up the small ticking box and examined it. She looked down into the yellow eyes of her cat,” Well, Rams, let’s give _this_ a try.” Ramsay simply mewled grumpily in response and trotted away.

Sigrid set to work attaching the claw to the puzzle box and then screwing both pieces onto a long metal rod. She took a deep breath,”Okay..here we go.” She flipped the “Overdrive” switch and slowly the puzzle box started to tick faster and faster, the whirring gyroscope became a blur and a small light began to form in it’s center. Sigrid’s eyes widened,”Yes! Here we go!!” The light in the center of the gyroscope traveled to the crystal point in the claw. It started to form a bubble inside the fingers,”Yes! Yes! Come on!!,” Sigrid urged the machine on. Sigrid went to give the device a small twist when a gear went careening out of the machine and pinballed around the workshop. The bubble disappeared and the contraption came to an immediate halt.

“AGH!! NO!! NO NO NO NO!! It was so close!!” Sigrid huffed, letting the device drop down to her side. She set it back on the workbench and sighed,”We were so close, Ramsay. I thought we had it that time.” Sigrid sat at the bench and gripped her head in frustration, taking a glance at the offending gear that sat on the other side of the room, she sneered at it,”One bloody gear...”

 

A sudden knocking on her door jolted her out of her frustration. Fear gripped her heart. Nobody ever came out here, not even the old couple. Carefully she pushed herself up from the bench and snuck to the door.

“Hallo, love! Whatcha doin’?”

Sigrid reeled around, slamming her back into her front door, eyes wide in terror,”You..how did--? Wait..Tracer?” The smiling Brit nodded,”Yep, that’s me.”

Sigrid was dumbfounded,”But..how..why..,”She shook her head,”Okay..whoah. Back up a second. What the hell is going on? Why are you here? And how did you get in? How did you even know where my house was?”

 

Tracer giggled,”You left your window open. Made it pretty easy for me to get in. As for why I’m here, I’m here for you.”

 

Sigrid studied the cheeful girl in disbelief,”Me..you’re here, in the middle of nowhere, for me?”

“Yup! Winston’s been monitoring some strange timey-wimey activity out here. Says it could be dangerous.”

“You’ve been spying on me?”

“Well..sort of but, Winston was more interested in the all the timey-wimey stuff goin' on around here.”

“Uh huh. The “Timey-Wimey” thing is _from_ me..,” a realization struck her,”And it’s working! It’s been causing shifts in time?”

“Very little but, yes! Enough to gain our attention.”

“Our? As in—?”

Tracer smiled,”As in Overwatch!”

Sigrid’s jaw dropped. Overwatch was still around? She thought--,”Thought we were disbanded for good, huh? Nope! The world will always need heroes!” Tracer beamed. It was as if she could read Sigrid’s thoughts.

Sigrid looked at the bubbly brunette questioningly,”So..what does Overwatch want with me?”

 

Tracer pondered for a bit,”Well, besides containing a possibly dangerous time anomaly, Winston is very curious about this machine of yours.”

“And?”

“And I want you to come back to the base with me and show Winston that A, you’re not dangerous and B, what you’re cool device can do. He might be able to put you to good use!”

 

Sigrid paced across the room to plop back down on her bench,”I..I don't even know what to think right now..”

Tracer sat down beside her and watched the gears turn in Sigrid’s head,”Can I take my cat with me?”

“Of course you can, love!”

“Well, I don’t know what I can do for Overwatch, or even what Overwatch can do for me but..,” Sigrid surveyed the shabby house around her,”It’s gotta be better than here, huh? Well, why not? Let's go!"

“That’s the spirit, love! Pack your things. We’ve got a chopper waiting nearby!”

 

Sigrid hurriedly set to packing. Maybe this was the chance she needed all along. Overwatch had so much more technology than she did. She picked up the machine on the bench and placed it in a box. Maybe they could help her stabilize her time field.

 

Once she was finished packing and Ramsay was crammed into his kitty crate, Sigrid followed Tracer through the forest and into a clearing where a small, unmarked chopper was parked. She threw all her bags inside and clambered in after them, taking a seat behind the cockpit.

 

“All set to go?” A thick Russian accent came from the cockpit.

“Yep! All set, Zarya! Liftoff!”

 

Sigrid got one last look at her old life before it quickly disappeared from her vision. This was the start of a new life, a new era.


	2. Epoch

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sigrid arrives at Overwatch HQ and stands before the other members of Overwatch..

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! So..I apologize for Sigrid's cliche backstory. ^__^ Thank you to the people who have left Kudos so far!

Sigrid’s grey eyes surveyed the landscape below as the chopper swiftly made it’s way to Overwatch HQ. What awaited her there? Would she be in trouble for mucking with time? Ironically, only time itself would tell. She could just barely hear the small brunette chattering away in the cockpit, although the sounds from the chopper made it hard to make out what she was saying. Curiosity gripped Sigrid and she slid over to press her ear against the wall that separated the cockpit from the cargo hold.

 

“--What d’ya think,Zarya?”

 

“I think we need to be careful. We don’t know who is working for who these days. A person like her could be extremely dangerous--”

 

“Or extremely helpful,” Tracer interjected,”Just think about it!”

 

“I am. It could go either way. We will have to see what the others think.”

 

The Others? Oh, gods. Was she going to be on trial in front of _all_ the members of Overwatch? Maybe she really was in trouble. Sigrid slid back over, a million thoughts racing through her head. She began to worry. Why couldn’t she just leave things alone?

 

A few more hours passed and the chopper landed at Overwatch’s HQ in Gibraltar. Sigrid’s heart raced faster than Tracer could ever go. She thought it might jump straight out of her chest and make a mad dash out of there. She couldn’t blame it as she wished she could do just that. Maybe this was a mistake.

Tracer must have noticed the worry that crossed Sigrid’s face as she lay a reassuring hand on the younger girls shoulder,”Don’t worry, love. Everything will be just fine.” She smiled that signature smile of hers. How was she always so cheerful? Sigrid gave a small nod and followed the brunette into the looming building, with Ramsay’s crate in one hand and the case containing her time contraption in the other, the rest of her things slung on her back in a large backpack.

 

“This way!” Tracer chirped as she led Sigrid down a long hallway,”Here. You can drop your things off in this room.”

 

Sigrid sighed in relief. That backpack was not light. Though she had lived humbly she still had quite a few belongings, including some very heavy tools. She gently placed Ramsay’s crate on the floor and let him out. He looked up at her with a disapproving glare and sauntered out into the room to take a sunny spot under a window,”Sorry, buddy. Traveling sucks, I know.”

 

“Alright,” Tracer said from the doorway,”I’ve let everyone know you’re here. They’re waitin’ for us.”

 

Sigrid’s chest tightened. This was it. The hour of judgement. She took a deep breath,”Lead the way.”

 

It was the longest walk she had ever taken. Sigrid followed the bubbly brunette, clutching her prized possession to her chest. After what seemed like an eternity the duo reached a large door that opened on it’s own. Tracer stepped in first and turned to look at Sigrid, only to find her frozen on the spot. Beyond that threshold sat every member of Overwatch. All eyes were on her as her own eyes darted around the room. She felt clammy and cold to the bone. Her gaze averted to the floor. She felt like crying. Just curling up in a ball and crying. She heard footsteps approach her and then a gentle hand was on her shoulder. Sigrid looked up into the eyes of Ana Amari,”Come now, dear. We’re not going to hurt you. You are not in trouble.”

 

Ana guided Sigrid into the room and, after placing her in a chair in it’s center, took her seat again among the members. Sigrid once again surveyed the room. Soldier:76 seemed to be exchanging words with Winston, who nodded in agreement to something. There was Pharah, Symmetra, Zarya and Mercy watching her with expressions she couldn’t determine, the four occasionally whispering among each other. And then there was Junkrat, looking bored as ever, and Roadhog. What were they doing here? Weren’t they wanted criminals? Well, McCree was too and he was there among the ranks, with an odd smirk on his face. Torbjorn and Reinhardt both had their eyes fixed on the case that Sigrid had placed on the desk in front of her. Tracer had taken a seat in between Lucio and D.Va, who all gave her a reassuring thumbs-up when she had looked in their direction. Sigrid assumed that Zenyatta and Bastion also had their eyes on her but, it was rather hard to tell when they didn’t exactly have eyes. Hanzo, Genji and Mei were all as unreadable as the four women on the other side of the room. It made Sigrid nervous, especially Hanzo’s cold gaze. She shifted uncomfortably in the seat and kept her hands on the lid of the time machine’s box.

Her hands were visibly shaking and she kept her eyes on the box in front of her, staring hard into the worn out grain. One of the members stood from their seat and approached her. A rather large hand was placed on her shaking shoulder. Roadhog jostled his smaller, sleeping, counterpart awake and indicated that he wanted him to pay attention.

 

“Sigrid Voorhies,”Winston’s voice started and Sigrid swore her heart came to a dead stop,”You have been called here because an anomaly, a time anomaly, was being monitored from your place of residence. We noticed that the anomaly was getting stronger at a consistent pace and, after a small bit of reconnaissance, determined that the anomaly was coming from a single, non-threatening source: You.”

Winston came around to the front of the desk looked down at the box containing the time machine,"May I?" Sigrid nodded and removed her nervous hands from the boxes lid. Carefully, Winston took the small puzzle-box like object out and connected it to the claw.

"Erm...,"Sigrid started,"It's missing a gear. I-It's needs repairs." Winston held the device to his eyes to study it, stopping on a small gash in the puzzle box where the gear had broken loose and flown out,"Ah. Indeed it does. Very well then." Sigrid noted that Torbjorn looked visibly disappointed.

 

Winston placed the device back into it's box and closed the lid, looking up to face Sigrid directily,”Sigrid, look at me.” Reluctantly her gray eyes met Winston’s golden ones,”We know why you wanted to create a time machine. We know what your intention was. We have all suffered during this difficult time but, Sigrid, this is not the way to deal with things," Sigrid's heart sank. All she wanted was to have her family back. "

   "However, after much discussion, we have come to the conclusion that your time machine may have another purpose. Out on the field, the manipulation of present time could prove invaluable. I have determined that with a few modifications your machine could be re-purposed to slow down our enemies and provide us a chance to work more efficiently. Sigrid,”he paused to take an affirming look at the other members before continuing,”We want you to join us in Overwatch.”

 

She froze. Was her machine working after all and time had stopped? Did she hear that right? Join Overwatch? Her?! The news hit her like a runaway freight train. She blinked a few times, trying to process what she was told.

 

“Join..Overwatch?”

Winston nodded and gave her a small smile,”Knowledge like yours would fit in well here.”

 

Sigrid anxiously drummed her fingers on the case of the time machine,”I...wow. This is..a lot to take in.”

 

She mulled over all the options she had. She could either say yes, join Overwatch and help make the world a better place or she could..what? Go back to her shack in the woods? And where would that get her? Nowhere. Just nowhere. And what good was that? Winston was right. What’s done is done. There was nothing she could do to bring her family back. But she could make the future better for herself and for others. Her mind was mind up.

 

Slowly she stood up and brought her eyes back to Winston,”Winston, I accept. I’ll join Overwatch and do what I can to help. It’s time I started a new era in my life.”

 

“Whoohoo!” Tracer cheered from her right. When nobody else joined in she sunk down into her seat,”Whoops..sorry. Carry on!”

 

Winston turned his attention back to Sigrid,”Sigrid Voorhies, from this day forward you will dedicate yourself to helping your fellow agents, to helping the people of the world and to making the world a better place for our generation and generations after. Today, you become an agent of Overwatch.”

 

The room erupted into a cacophony of whistles, cheers and clapping. Immediately, Torbjorn and Reinhardt came forth to ask about the time machine and, in Reinhardt’s case, give the new recruit a crushing hug. Sigrid showed the curious parties her machine while receiving congratulations from various other members. Her heart soared. She couldn’t believe it!

 

Tracer tapped her on the shoulder,”Don’t mean to interrupt ya, love, but there’s one more step.” Tracer turned to the others,”Sorry to interrupt, everyone but, Winston and I are gonna get our new recruit cleared and settled in. We’ll continue the celebration properly later!”

 

The other members nodded and most of them gave Sigrid another congratulations before shuffling out, Reinhardt pulling her into another crushing hug and stating how happy he was to see a new agent.

After everyone had left, Tracer and Winston led Sigrid to large room with a computer set up.

Winston took a seat at the desk and motioned for Sigrid to come sit next to him,”Alright Sigrid,”he began,”This is perhaps the most uninteresting step in becoming an agent but, a necessary step nonetheless. Just hold still.”

 

A small machine lowered from the ceiling and stopped in front of Sigrid’s eyes. A quick flash came from it, dazzling Sigrid for a second before retreating back into the ceiling.

“Alright. That flash of light was capturing your ocular signature. This will be used for security purposes,”Winston explained,”The last step is simple. Athena already has a database of your basic information so, all you have to do is choose your name.”

 

“My name?”

“Yeah! Like a code name!” Tracer chirped.

“Oh..uh..I didn’t really think about it.” Then again, she didn't think she'd be joining Overwatch either.  


 

Sigrid sat in thought for a second. Her machine had to do with time and this was a new beginning to her life, a new era..plus she wanted to sound cool. What would be a good time-based name? She had one in mind..

“How about..’Epoch’?”

 

“Epoch,”Winston repeated,”It suits you. Very well. Epoch it is.” He entered in her chosen name and saved it before turning to the new recruit,”Sigrid...Epoch..welcome to Overwatch.”


	3. Sweet Dreams

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Sigrid makes a friend? Things get a little fluffy in this chapter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone! Thanks to everyone who has read the story thus far. I apologize if the pacing is weird or if anything seems outta place. Let me know what you think so far.

 

 

After Sigrid was officially in the system, Winston offered to show her around the base while Tracer went and put together a proper welcome party for their new recruit. He took her around the various wings of the base including the armory and, Sigrid’s favorite, the workshop. It seemed like every member of the team had their own space in the workshop and Sigrid wondered where she’d fit in. It was crowded in there! It was interesting that you could just about tell who “owned” what part of the workshop, despite the clutter.

 

After stopping by the room Tracer originally had Sigrid drop off all her stuff, and corralling a very grumpy cat back into his crate, Winston led Sigrid down to the living quarters and showed her where she’d be staying. It made her happy to see her name on that door. It was a much bigger room than she expected. Ramsay was once again let out of his crate and Winston left Sigrid to settle in and freshen up before heading to her welcome party.

 

She paused for a moment to look around her new home and really drink in the fact that this was her new life now. This was her home and the agents were her family. Her heart felt bittersweet,”Family..,”she whispered to nobody. She could feel tears try to sting her eyes but she took a deep breath and held them back,”No time for crying, Siggy. You’ve got a party to get to!”

 

After a refreshingly hot shower, Sigrid put on her best clothes that she could stuff into her backpack. Unfortunately it came in the form of an old pair of cargo jeans and an equally worn out tank top with a faded Pachimari on the front. She studied herself in her bathroom mirror, brushing back the stripe of black hair that fell just below her shoulders. Sigrid got frustrated one day and decided to shave the sides off and she kept it like that ever since. She thought it looked cool anyway. Checking the time she hastily tied her hair into a top knot and made her way back to the meeting hall. Upon entering Sigrid was greeted to the cheers of her fellow agents. Reinhardt once again pulled her into a bear hug while McCree gave her a hearty clap on the shoulder and welcomed her with that signature smirk of his. The night was spent drinking, talking and watching Reinhardt, Torbjorn and Zarya make bets as to who could beat who in an arm wrestling match. She would occasionally spot the two Junkers huddled in a corner taking shots, the smaller one stopping to watch for a bit. It kind of creeped Sigrid out but, nevertheless, she continued to party and drink with the rest of the crew until many of them couldn’t stand or were already knocked out cold.

After a few hours of drunken revelry, broken singing and more congratulations (as well as one more crushing hug from Reinhardt) the party began to disperse as the agents that were still sober dragged their drunken allies to their respective rooms for the night. Despite being somewhat inebriated herself Sigrid chose to stay up a little longer. She was too excited to sleep and opted to try and fix her machine so she could show it to Winston in the morning. She just hoped she wasn’t too drunk to see the parts.

 

Grabbing the device from her room she trotted to the workshop, practically on cloud nine. After spending so much time in a secluded shack it was nice to be around so many kind people. She managed to find an unoccupied spot in the shop and laid her machine on it. Gazing around she looked for anything that might have gears or clock parts in it. In the corner of the workshop sat a large pile of various discarded parts and gadgets. Pieces of old or abandoned projects lay in a dogpile of tangled wires and chunks of metal. Sifting through the pile revealed all kinds of goodies that a tinkerer like her could play with later but the one thing that caught her eye was a cuckoo clock,”Perfect,”she breathed as she lifted the dusty clock from it’s grave. Turning it over revealed that it’s outer shell was busted but the inner workings seemed to still be intact. She peeped into the hole broken into the shell to see what kind of parts she might be able to salvage,”Hmm..that looks li--”

 

“Oi! What’re ya doin’ in me trash poile?”

 

Sigrid nearly dropped the already abused clock. Slowly she turned around to face Junkrat,”Oh..I-I didn’t realize that was yours. I...uh..sorry..” She gently put the clock back where she got it,”I’ll..uh..I’ll just..I’ll just go.”

 

Before the Aussie could say anything else she bolted for the door, her half drunken state making it a little difficult to discern which door was real. Skidding around the corner she made a beeline back to her room, leaving Junkrat in the darkened workshop,”What was that all about?” He wondered out loud before hobbling over and picking up the clock from the pile. He spotted Sigrid’s machine on the table and nodded in silent understanding,”Awww. Poor sheila was jus’ lookin’ for pahts.” He lay the clock next to the machine after finding some things to scrawl a note with. Having checked over his handywork and giving it his approval, the Junker hobbled out of the workshop and made his way back to his living space.

 

Over in Sigrid’s room, the tinkerer had laid awake for awhile sifting through the days events before drifting off to sleep. Sleep quickly turned into nightmare though as her dreams became plagued with the repeated vision of her family and their untimely death. Her breathing became ragged and she awoke with a scream, hot tears trailing down her face and cold sweat clinging to her skin. Her eyes wildly searched the room for any sign of the Omnics but the only thing to be found was the golden eyes of Ramsay in the darkness. She sighed at the old cat and gave him a pet behind one of his fluffy ears,”I’mma get some coffee, Rams.” He merely blinked in response as his owner crawled out of bed and shuffled her way to the common room.

 

She lazily put on a pot of coffee and plopped down at one of the benches, putting her head in her hands,”Another sleepless night,” she groaned. She put her head down on the table and watched the machine brew her late night cup of caffeine. Before it could ever finish she drifted back off to sleep.

 

The smell of coffee caught the nose of the smaller Junker as he made his way back to his shared living space. He peeked his head into the common room only to find the new recruit dead asleep at the table. Here for a day and already seeking solace in the cups. He grinned, until he noticed the streaks trailing down her face. His expression turned to concern as he watched the tinkerer twitch in her sleep, fresh tears rolling down as she mumbled something about omnics and begging them to not kill somebody. This wasn’t a typical coffee run for alcohol-induced sickness. As quietly as he could manage, he stepped closer to Sigrid and laid a hand on her shoulder, gently shaking her to try and wake her up without scaring her. A sharp intake of breath from the smaller girl let him know that it worked..sort of. Sigrid reeled back as she realized a cold metal hand had a grip on her shoulder. She landed hard on the floor, nearly conking her head on the counter.

As her mind settled she realized the hand didn’t belong to an omnic it belonged to Junkrat who, at the moment, looked oddly worried. Sigrid’s chest heaved as she watched the Junker from her new place on the floor. He stepped forward to offer his hand to help her up. Hesitantly she took it and was pulled to her feet. She didn’t realize how tall he was. He practically stood a full foot taller than her.

Sigrid could feel her face heating up with embarassment,”I..uh..I can--” Junkrat shushed her,”Ya don’t need to be explainin’ anythin’,sheila.” She looked up into the Aussie's amber eyes before nodding at the floor. This was the guy the news called a psycho and a murderer and highly dangerous? He didn’t seem so bad to her at this point in time.

“C’mon now. Let’s get ya back ta ya room then.” Yeah, he was a real psycho alright. Walking a traumatized, half-drunk lady back to her room was just so evil. She almost laughed at the thought. Was he like this to other agents? She’d have to ask Tracer.

 

The two plodded along in near silence, Junkrat's pegged leg clunking against the floor being the only sound within the whole base. He would glance over at her every now and then to see how she was holding up. She looked tired, that was a given, but something else seemed to be stirring behind her eyes. He wanted to ask about it but decided it would probably be a bad time to do so. Sigrid caught his eye at one point and he gave her a small smile. Somehow it made her feel better.

 

The odd pairing arrived at Sigrid's room after what seemed like an eternity. The Australian turned to face his smaller companion and cleared his throat to break the silence between them.

 

“Erm..Sigrid was it? I uh..I’m sorry I scared ya earlier.”

 

“S’no problem.”

 

“Are you..are you gonna be alroight?”

 

Sigrid nodded,”Yeh. Should be fine.”

 

Junkrat nodded in return,”Roight. Erm..Back to bed with ya then.”

 

He turned to leave and began to hobble down the hall. Before Sigrid entered her room she called out to him,”Hey..Junkrat.”

 

He stopped and turned back to her,”Yeh?”

 

“Thanks for...for walking back with me.”

 

The Junker grinned,”Anytoime, sheila. Sweet dreams!"

 

Sigrid wasn’t plagued with nightmares the rest of the night.

 


	4. Tinkerer and Junker

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Sigrid really and truly makes a friend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A much shorter chapter but packed with so much fluff you could use it as a pillow! Enjoy!

Sigrid awoke late that morning no thanks to her nightmares. The splitting headache brought on by a nasty hangover didn’t help much either. She fixed her gray eyes on the ceiling and recalled the goings on of the night before. The tinkerer was still in awe at the actions of the “crazed” Australian bomber.  
‘Was it even real?’ she thought to herself. She sighed and turned over to look at her clock,”Probably just a weird dream.”  
After crawling out of bed and popping a few pills to try and dull her headache, Sigrid trodded down to the workshop to make an attempt at fixing her machine. The room was completely empty and, most importantly, it was quiet. Sigrid tilted her head in confusion as she noticed her machine currently had a friend sat next to it: The cuckoo clock.  
‘I don’t remember putting that there..,’ Sigrid thought back to what had happened. No, she had put it back in the pile when Junkrat scared her. ‘So..how did yo--’she spied the scrawled note sitting next to the clock. It read “To Siggy. Welcome to the team! From, your pal, Junkrat Jamie. PS: Sorry for the scare!”  
Sigrid read the note over a few times,’Jamie? Oh right.’ She had remembered that the news had mentioned Junkrat’s real name, Jamison Fawkes, a few times. They normally referred to him as Junkrat though so she completely forgot about his true name. “Jamie,”she smiled. He was kind of, what was the word she was looking for? Cute? Oddly charming? Regardless, his little note brought a feeling of happiness to her heart.

She carefully folded up the note and put it safely in one of her pockets then took a seat at the table. She picked up the clock and turned it over and over trying to figure out the best way to pry it open without disturbing the parts inside.

“G’mornin’, Sheila!” Junkrat’s voice rang through the shop and straight into Sigrid’s skull, digging in like an ice pick. She clutched her head with her free hand,”Ow.”  
The Junker winced and lowered his tone,”Oh..sorry. Hangovah, huh?” He was answered by a slow nod. He took a seat next to Sigrid,”So eh..did ya get mah note for ya?”  
Sigrid patted her pocket,”Sure did. Thank you..er..Jamie. Do you mind if I call you Jamie?”  
The Aussie grinned like the happiest cheshire cat,”On’y if I kin call ya Siggy.”  
“Of course you can!” She didn’t think his grin could grow any larger but, it did. Sigrid set back to work trying to pry the clock open, finally succeeding and gazing at all the parts inside,”Hmm..that one might do.” The tinkerer looked down for her backpack, only to find it not there,”Aww, cripes. I left my tools in my room.”  
“Whatcha need?”  
“Just something to pry this little gear out..”  
“I’m on it!” Junkrat jumped up from the seat and went madly searching through Torbjorn’s various tool boxes,”Ha! Will this do?” He held up a rather small set of pliers. Sigrid nodded,”Yeah. That should work.”  
As the Junker returned to his original spot Sigrid shot him a questioning look,”Don’t you have tools of your own?”  
“Wha’? Me? Pah! I’ve got me tools roight here!” He held up his hands. Sigrid snorted,”Five finger discount, huh?”  
“Wot you mean by that?”  
“Do you just steal everybody elses’ tools?”  
“Naw! I just..borrow them! Yeah!”  
Sigrid laughed. Not just a small laugh either. A genuine hearty laugh. It felt nice to have a laugh like that again, she swore she could feel her headache subside with that one. Laughter truly was the best medicine.  
“Wot’s so funny then?”  
Sigrid shook her head and looked into the Aussie’s amber eyes,”You. I needed a good laugh.”  
Junkrat straightened up and tried to put on his best ‘serious’ face,”Well, I’m glad I could be o’ service.”  
The tinkerer was sent into another giggling fit over his ‘serious’ face. She put a hand on his shoulder,”Jamie, I think me and you are going to get along just fine.”  
For a second he looked stunned,”What’s wrong?” Sigrid questioned.  
“Do you...you wanna be my..my friend?”  
She shrugged,”I don’t see why not. You’ve been perfectly—urk!” she was cut off by a tight hug around her middle. Although caught off guard she found herself returning the gesture and pulling the Junker int o en embrace of her own.  
“Siggy,”Junkrat’s voice was low,”It feels so good to have anotha’ friend.” He pulled back and looked Sigrid in the eyes,”All the othahs don’t really bothah with me. Roadie’s been the only friend I’ve evah had, y’know? These blokes round here..I know what they think o’ me an’ Roadie. Most of ‘em see us a bad people but..” Sigrid snorted and took the smaller Junker by the shoulders,”Jamie, the past couple of days you’ve been nothing but kind to me, the new kid. And yeah, I was afraid of you but, only because the news wanted us to be afraid of you. The news is a lie though. You’re not who everyone thinks you are, at least..I don’t think so.”  
Once again the Aussie looked stunned,”You really mean it then? We can be..we can be friends?”  
“Well..yeah.”  
“Forevah?”  
“Forever. Until my heart stops beating.”  
“Ya promise?”  
“I promise...You okay, Jamie?”  
Tears had started to well up in the Junker’s eyes and before Sigrid knew it he started wailing,”Siggy! You ‘ave no idea what this means to me!” He pulled her into another tight hug and once again Sigrid found herself awkwardly returning the favor, resting a hand in his sooty blonde hair,”Hey..just calm down alright? There’s no need to cry, Jamie!”  
He sniffled into her shoulder,”I’m just so ‘appy, y’know? I ‘ave anothah friend!”  
The tinkerer patted the Junker on the head before giving him a gentle push to look him in the eyes again,”Alright now, you feel better?” Junkrat nodded and wiped his eyes,”Good. Now, let’s work on getting this machine fixed..together.” As the pair began working on the machine, Junkrat’s grin grew even bigger than before.


End file.
